I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Hot Buttered Run. It's a holiday themed race that has 12k, 5k and kids courses, and it's super fun. This was my third year running it, and it was better than ever. Almost about how the race is organized is pretty fantastic, and we've been lucky to have rain-free weather every year! I thought the weather was perfect, although my friend Cari did not appreciate my description of 53 degrees as being "balmy" and "perfect shorts and tank weather."
Anyway. The race itself is reasonably priced, and packet pickup at Fit Right was a breeze. There were a few goodies in the custom printed goodie bag, as well as the bib/timing chip and long sleeved cotton t-shirt. I ordered a small, and unfortunately had the same problem this year that I had two years ago... the sleeves are WAYYYY too short. They barely come halfway down my forearms. :(
This year the race started and ended in Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver. It used to be at Pearson Air Museum, but I think the park is a better venue by far. I carpooled with my BFF downtown, and parking wasn't too bad, we parked just a few blocks away. Once we arrived we hung out for a bit and met up with some other friends, and then waited til the last possible minute to put our jackets and sweaters in bag check. As usual, bag check was super efficient, and the line moved quickly, so it wasn't a problem. The starting line was divided into three corrals (sub 8, 8:01-10, and over 10) which worked out really well. There was hardly any congestion on the course due to the staggered start.
At the starting line:
Anyway. The race itself is reasonably priced, and packet pickup at Fit Right was a breeze. There were a few goodies in the custom printed goodie bag, as well as the bib/timing chip and long sleeved cotton t-shirt. I ordered a small, and unfortunately had the same problem this year that I had two years ago... the sleeves are WAYYYY too short. They barely come halfway down my forearms. :(
This year the race started and ended in Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver. It used to be at Pearson Air Museum, but I think the park is a better venue by far. I carpooled with my BFF downtown, and parking wasn't too bad, we parked just a few blocks away. Once we arrived we hung out for a bit and met up with some other friends, and then waited til the last possible minute to put our jackets and sweaters in bag check. As usual, bag check was super efficient, and the line moved quickly, so it wasn't a problem. The starting line was divided into three corrals (sub 8, 8:01-10, and over 10) which worked out really well. There was hardly any congestion on the course due to the staggered start.
At the starting line:
The course itself was mostly flat and pretty, going through downtown, by Fort Vancouver, along the waterfront. There was one big "hill" going over a bridge about mile 6 that was hard. The course was very clearly marked and there were tons of volunteers along the way, as well as a few aid stations. Prior to the race I didn't think I would PR since I just didn't feel ready. But even though the course was accidentally measured as being longer than 12K, I still managed to maintain a good pace and PR after all!
The AFTER PARTYYYYY!!!
The AFTER PARTYYYYY!!!
Ummm... and just FYI, I didn't plan on wearing all pink. It just happened. Because a LOT of my clothes are pink. Hat, jacket, pants, shoes... Yep.
Anyways, the after-party was great. There was tons of food (Biscoff cookies, almonds, rice cakes, bananas) and drinks (Gatorade, Muscle Milk, water). Getting into the 21+ area was easy, as there were clearly designated people checking IDs. While the lines for hot buttered rums did get a little long, the people serving drinks were doing a great job of keeping things moving. The hot buttered rums were AMAZING. SO GOOD. The mix is made by hand from scratch, and I could definitely taste the difference. And while we were in the Rum Garden, we got pictures with Gingy (the gingerbread man from Shrek!). It's kind of a tradition :P
We didn't hang out for too much longer after that since it was cold (we didn't stick around for the awards, but the medals were gorgeous!), and in spite of the course being a little too long, everyone really seemed to enjoy the event and was looking forward to doing it again next year. It's definitely one of my favorites!
Have you done any holiday runs?
Anyways, the after-party was great. There was tons of food (Biscoff cookies, almonds, rice cakes, bananas) and drinks (Gatorade, Muscle Milk, water). Getting into the 21+ area was easy, as there were clearly designated people checking IDs. While the lines for hot buttered rums did get a little long, the people serving drinks were doing a great job of keeping things moving. The hot buttered rums were AMAZING. SO GOOD. The mix is made by hand from scratch, and I could definitely taste the difference. And while we were in the Rum Garden, we got pictures with Gingy (the gingerbread man from Shrek!). It's kind of a tradition :P
We didn't hang out for too much longer after that since it was cold (we didn't stick around for the awards, but the medals were gorgeous!), and in spite of the course being a little too long, everyone really seemed to enjoy the event and was looking forward to doing it again next year. It's definitely one of my favorites!
Have you done any holiday runs?